Through Mari's Eyes
by Kami no Noshikage
Summary: CHAPTER 2 It took me long enough
1. Encounter

**Title: **Through Mari's Eyes  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing 'except Marsha "Mari" Clemmons and the storyline.  
**Timeline:** Movie-verse in 2006  
**Summary:** Marsha "Mari" Clemmons is a normal young woman trying to trudge her way through life, until her 28th birthday when an attack by a demon changes the way she sees things, literally.  
**AN:** This is a Hellboy/OC, but no Liz bashing whatsoever! This will have hints of Liz/OC yuri also. By the way, I know this chapter doesn't have much humor in it...it's rather dark...but the humor will come in later chapters.

**Chapter 1-Encounter **

She didn't know how she lucked out getting that $5000 scratch off ticket 2 months ago, and she never questioned it. That money went towards her relocation to Newark, New Jersey from Adel, Georgia, getting a cheap apartment and a running vehicle. But 2 months later, life was now catching up with Marsha Clemmons.

Mari, as she liked to be called, was working as a server and meat slicer in the deli of the local A&P making a measly $6.50 an hour. She realized a week after she moved into the apartment why it was so damn cheap; it was in the middle of the red light/drug district. But it was too late to move; she had lost her deposit after her door had been broke down by police who were trying to arrest a notorious drug dealer and had entered the wrong apartment. The deposit went towards replacing the busted door. Then her car, a 1985 Ford Escort, went caput in the middle of an intersection. It needed not only a new starter, but the engine needed a complete overhaul.

Dead end job, two weeks late on the rent, and having only her feet as transportation, Mari was now back where she was 2 months prior to her $5000 score. _Life sucks_, she thought to herself as she warily trudged home from work.

It was November 22, her birthday, and she was 28 years old. She had asked the deli manager two weeks earlier if she could have this day off so she could at least relax on her birthday (gifts from her parents never came), but, as always, the manager said he would consider it, and when he put up the schedule for the week, he had her working a 12 hour shift that day giving her the next day off, using the excuse "I thought you said your birthday was on the 23rd!" She scoffed at the words he had used; she knew that he was just being an asshole.

She stopped by a nearby convenience store and bought some snack cakes and a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. It was her birthday...might as well get drunk for it. As the cashier rang up her items, she pulled the hair tie out of her waist length ash brown hair and ran her fingers through it to give it freedom from its confines. As she waited, her cat like hazel green eyes gleaned the surroundings of the check out counter: condoms, cigarettes, Black and Mild cigars, chewable tobacco, and adult magazines adorned the wall behind the cashier.

After paying for her cakes and liquor, she stepped outside, opened the bottle of whiskey, and took a deep swig, making a face as the contents burned her throat. She capped the bottle and began walking again, having 4 more blocks to pass before she made it to her apartment building. The swallow dulled her senses as she was more comfortable walking than before.

She was only 2 blocks closer to her destination; she took hurried steps because her windbreaker wasn't doing it's job anymore. As she passed a dark alley she heard a sound like someone or something fell from above. Mari knew it would be stupid to go into the alley and investigate the source of the noise, but curiosity got the best of her. What if it someone was hurt and needed her help? She warily eased herself into the alley, clutching the mace spray on her key chain.

"Pretty girl...very pretty girl..."an eerie voice hissed softly, causing Mari's stomach to turn,"We smell your scent...you smell sooooo sweet. Are you a virgin, pretty girl? If so, you won't be for much longer."

On instinct, she quickly spun around and was about to run when she ran into something she could only describe as a thing. It stood about 2 feet higher than her 5 foot stature. It's skin was scale covered and slimy green in color and yellow, crooked and jagged teeth protruded from his upper lip. He had white wisps of what Mari assumed was hair and his ears were pointed protruding above his head like horns. As his blood red eyes surveyed her from head to toe, his black forked tongue glided across his yellow teeth. Mari dropped the bag in her arms, the bottle of whiskey smashing on the ground as she slowly and cautiously backed away.

"No where to run, pretty girl," the green scaled creature wrapped a scaly clawed hand around her forearm and with the other, it began to caress her well endowed bosom. It inhaled raggedly, tilting its head backwards, and as it exhaled, it's head lowered, crimson eyes peering out under heavy eyelids, "You're ripe...you will give us a son."

As soon as those words passed the creatures lips, Mari let out a blood curdling scream. There was a sudden blow across her face and she found herself sailing through the air. Her head slammed against a building's brick wall and her body slid down with a thud. Everything went black.

* * *

Serpine, an ancient reptilian demon with only one agenda: to breed. Hellboy had managed to destroy the demon's brood, the offspring he had created by raping 5 innocent girls. A few days after the girls had been raped, his vicious offspring emerged, bursting through their abdomen and leaving the poor girls to die. Hellboy had lost track of their patriarch, and he worried that the demon would again try to breed with another innocent girl. He made a mental note to shoot the idiot who summoned the malicious creature. 

"Damn!" Hellboy cursed aloud, gleaning his surroundings with serious amber eyes while gripping the Samaritan tightly in his left hand. "Where the hell did you go?"

He got his answer when he heard a terrified scream. The scream sounded as if it were in the immediate vicinity. _So lizard breath's nearby...Good to know_. He knew he needed to hurry before the Serpine...Hellboy started in a dead run and leapt over a 6 foot wooden privacy fence, his tan duster bellowing as he landed into a small dark alley. As he had feared, the Serpine was crouched over his 6th victim, ripping into her clothes.

"Hey, ugly!" Hellboy roared, attaining the occupied demon's attention. The Serpine rose to full height, enraged that he had been disturbed, standing only inches taller than Hellboy, who was a towering 6 foot 9 inches, "You know, I don't take kindly to demons who like to mess with defenseless girls and I'm NOT making an exception, in your case!"

"Not so fast, red one," the Serpine leaned over the girl and clutched her throat in his scaly clawed hand,"One step and we crush her neck!"

There are a lot of things that perturb Hellboy. But only a few things that anger him to the point of rage. Threatening a young girl's life, especially if it's Liz's, is one of the few. With a roar much like a battle cry, Hellboy charged forward, taking the Serpine aback by his sudden attack, and smashed his massive stone right hand into the Serpine's face.

The reptilian demon staggered backwards a few paces and dodged the next incoming punch. With all abandon, the Serpine began to slice into Hellboy's crimson skin with his claws, bringing forth spatters of blood from his face, chest and arms. Hellboy started to shield himself from the clawing force of the Serpine with his massive stone hand, gripping the Samaritan, waiting for an opening to fire it at the scaly beast.

Finally, seeing his chance, Hellboy fired his shot at the Serpine, knocking the beast a great distance backwards. The scaly creature lay motionless, but Hellboy wasn't quite convinced that he was dead. He ambled towards the motionless Serpine and fired 5 more bullets into him to make sure he stayed that way.

After replacing the Samaritan in it's holster, he moved quickly to examine the young girl. Her shirt was ripped but her white lace bra and khaki pants remained unscathed. Hellboy exhaled in relief; he had reached her in time. He placed the middle and forefinger of his left hand against the side of her neck and watched to see if she was still breathing. She was breathing steadily, but her pulse was slow...too slow. That's when he noticed the blood on the asphalt flowing from her head.

"Red to Myers!" Hellboy spoke through his communicator, an air of dire seriousness in his voice, "I've dealt with the Serpine but I've got a civilian down. She needs serious medical attention on the double. I'll stay with her 'til you get here."

"Roger that, Red," a static-muffled voice replied, "Myers out!"

"You're gonna be all right, sweetie," Hellboy told the young girl as he gently brushed her ash brown hair out of her face.

He regarded her for a moment, turned away, then, reminding himself that his relationship with Liz hadn't worked out and that he could look at pretty girls all he wanted, he examined her face again. She _was_ pretty...that was obvious. His eyes scanned her long ash brown hair, the thick lashes from her eyelids, her delicate nose, her slightly pouty soft rose colored lips. He smirked slightly as he thought about what it would feel like to kiss those lips. Then his eyes darted downward to her chest. He almost toppled over, seeing her ample breasts and how they looked like they were about to burst out of her white lace bra. He wasn't really a breast man, hell, Liz was barely a B cup. But this girls breasts were hard to ignore, especially when they were right there in his face.

If Hellboy could blush, he was sure he would have blushed right then. He felt the blood rush from his body straight down into his nether region. Quickly, he took the shreds of what was left of her shirt and covered her chest, giving the girl some dignity and him some relief.

It wasn't long before Agent Myers arrived with a group of agents. The agents quickly tried to conceal evidence of the Serpine by bagging the body and cleaning the blood from the asphalt. A stretcher was brought into the alley, agents gently securing the girl onto it. Hellboy glanced at Myers.

"She ain't goin' to Newark Medical?" he questioned the young FBI agent.

"Manning wants to make sure she wasn't infected," Myers replied running his fingers through his short mouse brown hair and staring down at the half-demon with his shocking blue eyes, "She'll get the treatment she needs at the Bureau."

"She's not infected," Hellboy rose to his feet, towering over the agent, "I got to her in time."

"Not that I don't trust you, Red," Myers spoke, slightly intimidated, "But Manning wants to make absolutely sure."

"Manning's an idiot," Hellboy grumbled as he fumbled around in his pockets for his Zippo lighter to light his half smoked cigar.

"They'll just check her out, then send her to Newark Medical," Myers reassured Hellboy, "She won't remember a thing. She'll be able to go back to her life as if none of this had ever happened."

"Hmpf..." Hellboy grunted, letting the cigar smoke pour out of his mouth. He then smirked as he mused over the girl's pretty face, "Too bad."

* * *

**Read and Review. This is my first Hellboy Fanfic so no flames please. Thank you**


	2. Light in the Darkness

-1**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except Mari, Dr. Thompson, and Agents Anthony Greer and David Masters.

**AN: **I had originally wanted to make this a comedy, but I decided to stick with a more dramatic storyline. And I know I suck at writing fight scenes…but I've not really a fighter, I'm a lover.

**Chapter 2-Light in the Darkness**

There was once in Mari's life that she had ever been as terrified as she did that night. She never talked about it; didn't want to talk about it. But the memory of it still lingered in the deep recesses of her mind. The monster that attacked her in the alleyway reminded her of that horrible memory. There was only one other monster who compared with the horror she experienced that night. Her step-father.

And so when she felt the hard brick slam against the back of her head turning everything to black, she dreamt of her past monster. A face that she had thought was lost in a nine year memory had now resurfaced to torment her…to violate what remained of her after nine years of recovery and therapy. But through the evil darkness of the dream came a light.

It was the light that drove the evil presence of her step-father back into the abyss. The light was golden in hue and shone so bright that Mari thought she would go blind had she dare stare at it too long. She felt the light's warmth surround her as she heard a strong, still voice speak.

"You're gonna be alright," and at hearing those words Mari gained a sense of security and peace.

The moment she awoke, however, the serenity had dissipated and only a migraine remained in its wake. The pain violently throbbing at the back of her head prevented her from opening her eyes. She felt as though the back of her head was in a vice grip.

"Damn hangover," Mari griped, concluding the events of the night before to be nothing more than the result of too much whiskey, "I'm never drinking again."

One after the other, she draped her legs over the side of the bed, preparing herself to stand and make her way to the bathroom for some headache relief and a good morning-after vomit. Eyes still shut from the agonizing headache, her feet touched the cold tiled floor.

"What the…" she opened her eyes to examine the floor she thought was carpeted, but instead she saw only darkness. She tried groping around her bedside for the lamp switch, but instead knocked over a metal stand she didn't remember putting in her room. A surge of panic began to well inside of her; her headache was almost completely forgotten.

With outstretched hands, Mari began fumble about the air, searching for some source of light, once or twice almost tripping over the bed. She shuffled about the room until, finally, her hands gripped what felt to be a type of door handle. It was cold, metal, and long with a small crook at the end much like the handles found on hospital doors. She carefully turned the handle downwards and had barely opened the door when she heard the voices of two men outside the room.

"…a moderate concussion," She managed to catch the last part of what the first man had said, "but it will be up to Newark Medical to discover the extent of the damage. Most likely, she won't remember a thing about last nights events. I've sedated her, so she should sleep though the transfer to Newark Medical."

_Idiot, _Mari grimaced, realizing the man was referring to her, _Sedatives have the opposite affect on me, don't you know?_

"I'm sending a small team of agents within the hour to assist with her removal," she heard the second man say smugly, "I need her removed from BPRD headquarters as soon as possible. We can't risk her wondering about here asking questions."

"Indeed," The first man agreed and Mari heard the sound of footsteps moving away from the door.

When she felt the coast was clear, Mari stepped out of the room finding that the outside was equally as dark as the inside. Again outstretching her hands, she moved along the darkness and until her palms came in contact with a wall. Using her right hand to feel the smooth, metallic surface, she followed the wall down what she surmised was a long corridor until the wall turned into a corner.

In the next area after following the wall around the corner, she felt a surge of relief. Small white and grey lights littered the sides of the new corridor like floating lanterns in the darkness. She was disappointed to see that the lights did not help her see in the darkness. It also made her situation more frightening. Frantically, Mari moved along the corridor as frightened tears welled up in her eyes . She followed the lights until she collided into a dead end, sending her tumbling to the floor. She reached out with both hands, her palms touching the cold metal wall blocking her path.

"Let me out!" In mixture of anger and fear, she screamed at the top of her lungs as her fist wailed at the wall restraining her. The tears from her eyes began to flow down her heated cheeks, "Someone! Help me! Please!"

She continued to pound her fists on the metal wall screaming out for help between sobs. The tears continuously flowed as if there was no ending to them. Soon, out of exhaustion, she ceased banging on the metal wall and collapsed to the floor in a heart-wrenching wail. But not long after her tearful collapse, Mari heard a loud hiss similar to the sound of a fresh soda bottle being opened. She lifted her head and before her stood a great brilliant blue light.

"Oh my," A soft masculine voice came from the light. It sounded kind and comforting. The voice paused briefly, then continued, "You like to be called Mari."

Mari nodded wiping away the fresh tears, trying to regain her composure. She gazed up pleadingly at the blue light, "Please…help me."

She felt a cold damp hand wrap around her shoulder, suctions on the palm softly attaching to her skin, and she jumped at the touch. The voice spoke again, reassuringly, "Mari, don't be afraid. There is nothing or no one here that will harm you . Come with me. I will take you to someplace a little more comfortable."

The hand moved from her shoulder and, suddenly, a large beam of light extended out to her, "Take my hand. I will lead you."

The light was so beautiful and the voice was so comforting that Mari did not hesitate to reach her hand for the beam of light. She felt the cold damp hand grasp it firmly, the suctions sticking to the skin of her hand. She was helped to her feet and the blue light carefully led her through the darkness.

* * *

Many men go through their mid-life crisis around their mid forties. Very rarely would you see a man in his late fifties, early sixties begin one. Thomas Manning was one of those rare few. It happened that one day at his home after kissing his wife goodbye to leave for work, he happened to glance at the mirror in his foyer and realized how old he really was. Disparate to revive his youth, he scheduled several botox treatments, dyed his hair to cover the grayed expanse, paid top dollar to get hair implants, and bought himself a bright red BMW. Those were just done in the first four months. Manning was examining the crow's feet at the sides of his eyes, grumbling that he just botoxed that area only a month ago, when Agents Anthony Greer and David Masters entered his office.

Agent Masters was in this mid-thirties and not much of a looker. He and another agent had arrived almost two years ago to replace the agents that had died during a mission in Moscow. His narrow face, thin lips and steel blue eyes gave an air of seriousness and maturity while it contrasted with his fine, honey blonde hair which gave him a look of youthfulness.

Agent Greer, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Fresh out of the FBI academy at only 25 years of age, he had arrived only three months ago. His electric green eyes had a light of childlike curiosity and mischief. His thick, wavy, jet black hair was slicked back giving his round baby face more presence. He was strongly disliked by Manning because of his propensity to be slightly perverse in his sense of humor, which Hellboy found rather amusing.

Manning narrowed his dark eyes at the pair of FBI agents, infuriated at being interrupted in a private moment. Changing his demeanor, Manning then removed a fresh cigar from his desk drawer and lit it with a wooden match.

"I trust the transfer of Ms. Clemmons went smoothly," His dark eyes focused on the agents, his statement sounding more like a question.

The two agents exchanged apprehensive glances until, finally, Agent Masters cleared his throat, "Well, sir, we've run into a slight problem. Ms. Clemmons wasn't in the infirmary when we arrived. She's…well, gone."

"What do you mean 'she's gone'!" Manning exploded, his freshly lit cigar falling out of his mouth and onto his crisply pressed suit pants. He yelped in pain from the burning tip as he awkwardly fumbled around his seat until the lit cigar was safely in his hands. He furiously pressed the page button on his phone and addressed the agent stationed at the reception desk, "I want Dr. Thompson in my office immediately!"

Soon after Manning's outburst, the gangly physician arrived, his glasses askew on his crooked nose and the white wisps of what was left of his hair appeared windblown. He hesitantly approached Manning's desk, "You…you wanted to see me Dr. Manning?"

"I thought you sedated Ms. Clemmons!" Manning roared furiously, on the verge of rising out of his seat.

"I did! I sedated her myself prior to our conversation!" Dr. Thompson retorted defensively.

"Well, can you explain why," Manning began in a more composed manner, "she wasn't present when Agents Masters and Greer arrived to remove her?"

"I…I don't understand," the aged physician stammered. He paused momentarily in thought and widened his eyes as he drew a conclusion, "There is a small percentage of the world's population has adverse effects to sedatives. Perhaps our Ms. Clemmons is part of that percentage."

"Be that as it may," Manning faced the two FBI agents, "She may have been wondering around long enough to find out a few things that do not need to be publicized. Masters, Greer, get together a small team of agents and search this facility top to bottom. I want Hellboy on lockdown until she's found. The less this girl knows the better."

After the agents and the physician departed, Manning examined the hole made by the cigar on the inner thigh of his pants, "Damn…I just had these pants altered."

* * *

Hellboy yawned groggily as he plopped heavily on his couch with nothing on but his black cotton boxers. He grabbed a half smoked cigar from the ashtray on the coffee table, stuck it in his mouth, and picked up the Zippo lighter laying next to an empty can of Bud Light. After lighting his cigar, he eased himself back into the couch and propped his cloven hooves on the top of the coffee table.

Hellboy glared at the TV through drowsy half opened eyes as the cartoon of Tom and Jerry passed across the screen. His eyes shifted in the direction of his digital alarm clock which read 11:34 am. _Early start, _he thought to himself but was contemplating crawling back into bed until he heard the metal door to his room slide open. Knowing it was too early for breakfast, Hellboy was suddenly alert and standing at the ready. He let out a sigh of relief, as smoke wafted around his head, when he saw that it was only Abe. He glared with displeasure at the blue skinned merman who had only partially entered his room.

"Red," Abe spoke in his elegant voice, but before continuing, let out a small chuckle, "11:34 am…a new record."

"What's the matter with you, Blue? You looking to get decked?" Hellboy huffed allowing the smoke to emit from his mouth as he spoke, "What do ya want?"

"Ah, yes," Abe answered, remembering why he came to Hellboy's room. He glanced momentarily outside the door, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind assisting me with something."

"Assisting you with what?" Hellboy removed the cigar from his mouth and extinguished it in the ashtray.

"Come on. You're safe here," Abe murmured reassuringly outside the door, then slowly eased in the young woman Hellboy had saved from the Serpine the night before, and closed the door softly behind her. She clung to Abe's left arm as if her very life depended on it.

"DAMN!" Hellboy rushed over towards his bed, frantically grabbed his black leather pants, and fumbled to put them on, "I'm in my underwear and you brought HER in here!"

"She can't see you!" Abe explained and added in a protective tone, 'And, please, don't yell. She's frightened as it is."

Hellboy stopped midway of pulling on his pants at hearing Abe's declaration. He glared at the pair in surprise, "You telling me she's blind?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Abe slowly guided the girl over to the couch as Hellboy's eyes followed them, "She can see, but only things that other's cannot. Both her blindness and her 2nd sight are the result of a concussion she suffered from last night."

He ushered the girl onto the couch as Hellboy, remembering he hadn't put his pants on all the way, slipped his pants on the rest of the way. He slowly made his way to the couch and sat on the other side of the girl, curiously trying to get a view of her face though her back was to him.

"Mari, this is Hellboy," Abe spoke so gently it was almost a whisper, "He's a colleague of mine. He's safe."

The girl, Mari, turned to face Hellboy, but as her eyes came in contact with his person, she shielded them with her hand.

"Come on! I'm not _that _ugly!" Hellboy jetted in an affronted tone, then reminded himself that she was blind. He made a pained face, "Sorry, I forgot."

"I…I've heard your voice before. It was you! You were the light in the dark!" Mari slowly moved her hand from her eyes but they did not come in contact with his.

Hellboy gave Abe a puzzled expression, but Abe only smiled and said, "I'll explain later."

Mari's lips suddenly drew into a broad grin, as realization dawned on her, and Hellboy mused that it made her all the more beautiful, "You told me I was gonna be alright."

Hellboy felt the sides of his mouth tug into a proud smile, _She heard me, _"I think I mighta said something like that."

Unexpectedly, Mari through her arms around him, at first startling him and then leaving him unsure of what to do. She whispered gently in his ear, "Thank you for saving me."

He glanced at Abe for some direction, but Abe only shrugged. _Some help! _Hellboy thought to himself, and with a sigh, wrapped his left arm around Mari's svelte waist, giving her a gentle squeeze, "No problem, sweetie. It's my job."

As soon as those words passed his lips, a loud click followed by a brief clang reached his ears. He released Mari and rose to investigate the source of the noise.

"What the hell!" Hellboy swore aloud. He had gripped the handle trying to open the door, but for some reason it would not budge.

Abe rose swiftly to assist him, placing a webbed hand on the door, "Oh, dear. They've put you in lockdown, it seems."

"Great!" Hellboy's voice dripped with sarcasm. "What'd I do this time?"

"No, it's not that you've done anything," Abe removed his hand from the door and elegantly gestured towards Mari, "It seems, they are searching for our young friend here. They won't unlock the door until she's been found."

"Yay!" The sarcasm remained in Hellboy's voice, as he sat back down on the couch next to Mari, "Sorry, sweetie. Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while."

* * *

**I hope I did as well as the first chapter. Sorry about the fluff…it was…unavoidable … ... ...R****&R please. Compliments are appreciated, criticism will only make me cry.**


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